Sea Breeze
by SearScare
Summary: A scene on The Argo as it sails to Rome/Greece


**Sea-Breeze**

She's almost asleep when he finds her stretched out on one of the decks of _The Argo II. _The sun is high in the sky and the watch she'd taken from the night before, plus the mock dueling with the Romans has left her drained- drained enough to quell her doubts about falling asleep on a ledge which has no safety rope, a ledge which is situated _right above the engine_ so that if she falls, her scream will most effectively be drowned by the noise.

She's in fact quite surprised to see him- considering she hasn't told anyone about this spot but then she figures his weird sea-boat-powers are probably to blame for this invasion of privacy. It's not like she particularly _minds _his presence but there are times in a day where one would just like to wallow _alone _in despair at the thought of taking on Mother Earth and her army of nearly indestructible children thousands of miles away from home.

He surveys her for a moment, taking in her form (sprawled as it is), her expression (bordering on a frown) and her possessions (dagger, book and oddly enough, a small portable, chessboard, complete with magnetic pieces) and she can see indecision in his eyes.

She hopes, silently, that her lack of greeting will be enough to send him away, but this is Percy Jackson she's talking about, Hero of Olympus and possibly the worst reader of body language there is.

'Looks comfortable.'

Is his acknowledgment of her position as he swings himself off the ladder with remarkable grace to land lightly at the edge, his balance maintained by a careless hand gripping a section of jutting out wood.

She doesn't reply and considers for a moment, kicking him off the ship.

She resists, not because she's scared she'll hurt him (he did fall from St Louis' Arch without a problem) but because that will raise a host of unwanted questions (Why did you throw me off _The Argo _again?) which she doesn't want to answer.

He sits down at her feet, legs dangling off the edge and leans back as he surveys the sea around them. She feels disgruntled suddenly, wishes perhaps that he would take a moment to study _her_, after all why else is he in _this _spot?

She sighs loudly, hoping to draw him into conversation (oh yes, now she wishes to talk) but his eyes remain distant, hovering over his father's realm, his thoughts equally long and remote. She takes in the way he sits comfortably, utterly at ease despite the narrow ledge, the uncomfortable wood, the lack of space and the sheer drop into cold open air (and equally cold) water off one side.

And then she realizes.

It's _his _spot.

And it's _she _who is intruding.

And in typical Percy style, he accepts her presence without a second thought.

A frission of guilt blooms inside her and she turns her head away from him and closes her eyes, hoping that she can convince herself that she is most definitely a better person than him. Sadly, she is far too intelligent, far too observant and above all, far too analytical to believe her deceit and in the end she admits (with irritation) that perhaps she owes him an apology.

She clears her throat loudly but he still doesn't look her way.

'I'm, uh, sorry.'

She says in clear tones for though she hates apologizing, she will not hide from the embarrassment it brings.

A slow smile spreads across his face and his eyes move slowly from their breathtaking surroundings to her, twinkling with humor.

'For what?'

She almost kicks him when he drawls but she take a deep breath of fresh air and decides that if he wants an entire acceptance of fault, she'll give it to him- in her own way, of course.

'For taking up your space. I didn't realize you… spend time here.'

_Because you didn't tell me, _she adds triumphantly (and silently) at the end of her sentence. His smile, if possible becomes wider and he raises his hand and places it on her ankle in an oddly thoughtful gesture.

'That's okay. I don't mind sharing.'

He says easily but she doesn't really take in the faint sarcasm because her nerves are tingling at his touch- which she can feel through the denim covering her skin.

'Well, great then. We're good.'

She says, distracted by the slight change in his expression. She's _seen _that look before and it's almost always is a prelude to some outrageous thought in his head.

He tilts his head to one side and his eyes sweep across her, his brow furrowed in thought. Because she's busy trying to decipher his micro expressions she misses the imperceptible tightening of his hand around her ankle.

'Hmm. "Good…"' He repeats musingly and rolls the word around in his tongue and into the still air around them.

'… I'd like to think we're always _good._'

She misses the inflection but not the sudden jerk as his hand pulls her to him (and upright) with hitherto unsuspected strength. She resists but it's no use as he laughingly catches her around the waist and pushes them both over the ledge.

She yells but it drowns into his skin as they fall through the air, impossibly fast. One corner of her mind finally gets over the shock and warns her body to brace for impact but the caution proves to be unnecessary as they slice through the water as though they're both trained divers.

The water is cold and she trembles unconsciously as they sink beneath the waves. She opens her eyes and all she can see is his face- fuzzily at that. He's grinning and there is unparalleled joy in his eyes as he laughs resoundingly at her attempts to break free of his arms.

She elbows him, hard and it finally dawns on him that she's _isn't _a child of the sea and hence has trouble breathing underwater- like most people that inhabit the earth. He pulls them both up deftly and as her head bursts through the surface, she's already yelling at him.

'What is _wrong _with you, you idiot? I mean, seriously, d'you have…-'

He shuts her up by kissing her and even she has to admit that there is a certain magic to being kissed in the ocean as your significant other holds on to you. They break apart and she splutters as a particularly unruly wave washes over her, filling her mouth with brine.

It takes her a while to cough the water out and when she regains her breath, he's laughing again. It takes a supreme effort not to kick him away, an effort mostly derived from the thought that the only reason she hasn't drowned or hasn't been pulled away by the strong ocean currents is because he's holding on to her.

'Are you cold?'

He asks and it takes a little time for her to realize that he's actually sounding a little concerned. In response she pokes him sharply in the ribs.

'No, of course not! I'm feeling perfectly cozy.'

In hindsight, she wishes she hadn't used _cozy_ to convey her sarcasm because the word is entirely too cute to be insulting. He laughs again but obviously uses some of his stupid sea powers because she's suddenly dry and feeling awfully… cozy.

'Better?'

He offers and she suddenly feels that even though he most definitely thought up his plan to annoy her, it might have been his way of getting to unwind a little. The thought cheers her up slightly even though she can never entirely dispel the image of their collective gloomy future from her mind.

'Yeah, uh, thanks.'

She hopes that he gets that she's showing gratitude for more than just the obvious (though again, this _is _Percy Jackson she's talking to) and as he smiles faintly and doesn't reply, she thinks that maybe, he did.

A shout from above makes them both look up and he frowns at the sight of Leo gesturing wildly at them, rope in one hand and a hammer in the other.

'Clearly, our absence has been noted.'

He mutters and she wonders if she really did hear the slight bitterness in his tone.

'We should… get back.'

She agrees and for the tiniest moment they share the same thought of escaping their responsibilities. Then, with a huge sigh on his part, the currents begin to push them back to the ship.

* * *

><p>As he climbs over the sides and listen to the remonstrations from Leo and Jason, he catches her grinning at him and knows that he doesn't just want to share a ledge on the side of the ship with her- he wants much, much more; an idea which the fates are probably against.<p>

But as they both laugh and high-five each other much to Leo's disapproval, he figures that he'll take anything he can get and do anything he can to make their present truly, a gift.

* * *

><p><strong>The End.<strong>


End file.
